The Distribution Sales Gap
Distribution has always been strong at relationships. Research shows where there may be more opportunity.
The Distribution Gap
Distribution has always been strong at relationships. Research shows where there may be more opportunity.
The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) published results from a study that looked at more than 463,000 sales evaluations across all industries and compared them with 10,696 evaluations of salespeople working in distribution.
Each percentage below is the share of salespeople rated strong in that skill.
The gray bar is everyone, and the blue bar is distribution.
The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors compared distribution sellers with sellers across all industries. Here’s where the gaps show up, and how I work on each one.
Here’s the same research in a table.
Distribution sellers come close to the rest of the market in relationship building.
The biggest gaps are in finding new business and reaching decision makers.
| Skill | All sellers | Distribution | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunting for new business | 72% | 39% | 33 points |
| Reaching decision makers | 49% | 23% | 26 points |
| Sales process | 49% | 33% | 16 points |
| Selling value | 43% | 28% | 15 points |
| Relationship building | 53% | 46% | 7 points |
Percentage of salespeople rated strong in each skill. Source: National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, using Objective Management Group data.
See additional information on closing the sales gap.